Means for preventing accumulation of ice on airplanes or the like



Dec. 31,1935. NER 2,025,919

MEANS FOR PREVENTING'ACCUMULATION OF ICE 0N AIRLANEs OR THE LIKE Filed May 22, 1934 UN ED srArE-sjPATENr .ornc-Ez MEANS FOR PREVENTING ACCUMULATION I OF ICE N AIRPLANES THE Harry E. Waner, Akron, Ohio, assignor to .The B. F. Goodrich Company, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application May-22,1934, Serial No; 126,876

2 Claims. latent-'31) This invention relatesto devices for preventing accumulation of ice .on' surfaces exposed to ice-forming conditions, suchas the wing, control and other surfaces-of an airplane.

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mounted upon such surfaces-for this purpose, but

in a direction transverse to the air-stream they have been of rectilinear form and although a plurality of inflatable tubes have been mounted sideby-side in parallel relation and have been inflated and deflated in succession in order to provide dissymmetry of cross-section for unbalancing pieces of ice held in place by the force of the airstream, the operation of such devices has not al ]5 ways resulted" in the breaking of the ice. into pieces as small as might be desired and adequately unbalancin'g the pieces for their immediate removal by the air-stream. The chief objects of my invention are to provide a device of this general character adapted to be highly effective in breaking the ice into small pieces, and especially by breaks extending in variousdirections, and to provide a dissymmetry of the surface of the device such as to be more effective in unbalancing the pieces ofice with respect to the force of the air-stream.

A further object is to provide these advantages with a single distensible container as distinguished from a plurality of containers requiring to be distended in alternation or succession. Of the accompanying drawing:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of tail portions of an airplane having mounted upon the leading edges of its vertical and horizontal stabilizers 86 embodiments of my invention in its-preferred form.

Fig. 2 is a section on line 2-'-2 of'Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view, with parts in sec-- cover layer ll of rubberized fabric, the two being vulcanized to each other, face to face, along their margins, and, mounted between them and vulcanized to them, two tubes of rubber or rub-9..

berized fabric l2, [3 each of which is of periodic increasing and decreasing size in cross-section, large portions of each one lyin'g alongside small portions of the other, the two tubes at each position lengthwise thereof being of what may be termed complemental cross-sectional size and their adjacent sides being disposed along a sinuous line l4.

a The device preferably is anchored to the under- Heretofore inflatable rubber shoes" have been lying surface of the airplaneonly at its margins .and inorder'toprevent the force of the air- .stream from causing it towrink'le it is desirable that it be mounted on theairplane with the-base layer l0 under substantial transverse tensionsuch 5 as could not be readily obtalned'by simply cementing the margins to the airplane surfacef To that end one longitudinal margin of the device is provided with a stri-p of fabric l5 vulcanized to the under side of the base layer ill and having its opposite face substantially-free of rubber so.

thatitcan be firmly anchoredto the airplane .surface by a suitable cement, and the opposite longitudinal margin of the base layer It) has vulcanized thereto a strip of fabric l6 provided 15 with' lacing eyelets l1, I! for lacin'git to a similar. fabric strip l8 which is adapted to be' cemented to the airplane surface and is. provided with eyelets l9, -l9.

' The device being flrst secured along its upper 20' margin (-Fig, 2); tothe airplane by, the cementing" of the strip [5 in place and the strip l8 being cemented in place, the base layer In can then be strongly tensioned, after the cement hasdried, by lacing the strips l6 and I8 together; after 26 which the free margin o'f the cover sheet I I can be cemented in place as a fairing over the lacing. While. my invention is not wholly limited to this. featu fe, the two tubes l2 and I3 in this embodiment are in communication with each other, so within the container constituted by the base sheet lll and cover sheet H, and a single fluid conduit 20, connected to suitable fluid-pressure and ex.- haust devices (not shown), is provided for inflatingthem concurrently and deflating them con- 85 currently.

In the operation of the device theinflation thereof causes distension of the tubes l2 and I3 and a flexing and stretching of the cover sheet H, and, because ofthe varying cross-sectional 40 size ofthe tubes, or the holding down of the cover. sheet along the sinuous line M, such flexing and stretching of the cover sheet is of non-uniform and quite varied character at different positions lengthwise and at different positions cross-wise 45 Q of the device, so that the ice is broken into smallpieces by the squirmingaction, and also, by'

reason of the tubes or expansion zones being of or successiveinflation and alternate or successive deflation of a plurality of tubes.

A reversal of the change of shape of course occurs upon deflation of the device, by reason of has gathered upon its retracted'suriace the distending action is repeated.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for preventing accumulation o! ice on aircraft comprising an elongate, distensible container,'-'means for maintaining relatively close proximity of opposite walls thereo! along a sinuous line, and means tor-conducting pressureits resilience, and when another quantity 0! ice fluid into and venting it from the container to vary its shape.

' 3. Apparatus for preventingaccumulation or ice on aircraft comprising two disteneible tubes 4 of varying cross-section mounted side by side with large portions of eachopposite small por- I I tions of the other and means for conducting pressure-fluid into and venting itt-lrom said tubes.

; HARRY E. WANER. 

